[The tragus as a donor area of cartilage grafts: anatomic study].

UNLABELLED: The ear is one of the main donor sites of cartilage grafts. Usually, the main donor site of cartilage grafts in the ear is the conchae. PURPOSE: This study proposes the removal of cartilage grafts also from the "lamina tragi" that is a part of the ear cartilage, specially in those situations where we can not use or we do not want to use the conchae. METHODS: The cartilage of 40 ears was dissected and studied in 20 cadavers where the "lamina tragi" were measured. RESULTS: The cartilage extracted from the "lamina tragi" was shown to be of a good size for cartilage grafts. The fragment obtained measured 13.8 mm in width, 21.4 mm in height and 1.6 mm in thickness on the average. CONCLUSION: The cartilage graft obtained from the "lamina tragi" is a viable alternative, specially for rhinoplasties to correct the dorsum and the tip.